Bedtime Stories
by ShipperWriter
Summary: John Sheppard retells the story of Robin Hood, but with a slightly different twist. AU Future!fic, Sparky!Kids!Fic, can follow my story "Everybody's Fine" set 5 years after or standalone.


"Bedtime Story" by ShipperWriter

Summary: John's kids won't go to sleep. He gets a little inspiration for a bedtime story. Can be stand alone or sequel to "Everybody's Fine", whichever you prefer!

* * *

"All right, you two, time for bed."

A large, gentle hand covered the tops of the children's heads as the boy shot a conspiring glance at his sister. The head of the three year old girl was completely enclosed by the comparatively massive hand of her father, intent on steering them towards bed. She had a twinkle in her eye as they approached the bedroom door.

The five year old boy winked, then straightened and crossed his arms as their dad lifted his hands, making his way to the head of their twin beds and pulling back the covers. "Come on, lieutenants, hurry up," he chided in a light tone, reflecting his jovial nature.

They stood, united, defiant, at the doorway. The little girl shook her head, curls swaying side to side. "Nuh-uh," she replied.

"Bed time story first."

Their dad groaned in mock frustration. "But I just told you a bed time story last night!"

"C'mon, Dad, just a short one!" Jack pleaded, doing a picture perfect imitation of his father's puppy dog eyes.

John Sheppard crouched down to his son's level, ruffling his hair. "Like father, like son." He turned to look at his daughter. "And I suppose he got you to agree to this?"

Her curls tousled in agreement.

He let out a exaggerated sigh. "I don't know, I might hafta make one up."

"Ooh, those are the bestest!"

"It's 'best', Nat. Seriously, if your mom heard you talking like that, she'd think I was teaching you instead of Chuck." He took each of the kids by the hand and led them to their beds. "All right, under covers, then I'll start."

When their dad turned his back for a moment, the siblings gave each other an air fist-bump.

John saw their reflection in the mirror and smirked.

* * *

All Elizabeth Weir wanted to do was run from her office, collapse into her quarters, and snuggle up next to her husband and fall asleep while she recanted the events of the day.

However, it seemed her children had different plans.

As she entered their quarters and the door slid shut behind her, she heard John's voice coming from the youngsters' bedroom.

She stopped at the corner, able to see into the room without giving away her position.

John was perched on the edge of Natalie's bed, gesturing and smiling as he told them one of his classic bed time stories. She honestly didn't know where he got half his material from; she had kidded that he should write a children's book for the Athosians.

He grinned and said no.

As she listened in to John's emphatic voice, the premise started to sound familiar.

"But Prince Todd was stealing money from all the people in Pegasus, and they were running out of food. They couldn't afford to buy more. They had no where to go for help. So it was up to one man to help them all." He narrowed his eyes between his kids, trying to draw them out. "What do you think his name was?"

"John Sheppard!" they exclaimed.

Elizabeth quietly snickered. The kids were only encouraging his hero complex. _Ai yi yi. _

"So Sheppard gathered together some of the bravest in the land. His right hand man was a big, tall guy who had the heart of a teddy bear."

Natalie held up a hand to her dad, then shook her hand at Jack. "That's Ronan," she told him proudly, her father's smirk on her own face, displaying her satisfaction in figuring out that character. She looked back to her dad and nodded permission to continue. "Go ahead, Daddy."

Elizabeth's overwhelming exhaustion was slowly dissipating, partly from the elation of seeing her family so happy, and partly because she was shrieking with laughter inside as John reinterpreted the events of _Robin Hood_ with a Pegasus setting.

"Thank you, princess," he chuckled, tipping her chin. "So Sheppard got a bunch of brave people together. There was Ronan, Teyla, and Evan, and Rodney-"

"_Rodney_?" Jack blurted in surprise.

From the shaking that Elizabeth could see, she came to the conclusion that John was trying desperately not to laugh at his son. "Well, see, in this story, Rodney actually is brave. That's why it's called make believe, right?"

She rolled her eyes. _Oh, John._

After an enthusiastic head shake from the kids, he resumed the story. "So he was ready to stand up to Prince Todd and the Sheriff of Pegasus, but there was one other thing that he wanted." He paused, glanced around the room, and caught side of Elizabeth as she tried to obscure herself behind the wall. He smiled, mouthed, _Hey babe,_ and turned his attention back to the kids. "What do you think it is?"

"Food?" "A puddle jumper?"

"No. A very special person. Someone that he liked very much."

"Dad?"

"Yeah, JP?"

"I'm five. You can say the L word."

Elizabeth's mind quickly filtered all the L words that he wasn't thinking of.

"All right, all right. This was someone that he _loved,_" he emphasized, making Jack groan and Natalie giggle, "very, very much. And her name … was Lady Elizabeth."

"Mommy!"

With a wide yet weary grin, Elizabeth took the moment to enter into the room, walking up behind her husband and wrapping her arms around his chest while he sat. Natalie scrambled out of her covers and jumped towards her mom, wanting a hug.

Jack jumped onto the floor and hugged his mom's legs.

She could only smile again. "So, what's this I hear about a Lady Elizabeth?"

"Daddy - uh, I mean, Sheppard - is gonna save her and kiss her and live happily ever after," Natalie announced, having apparently already decided the finale of the story.

"Oh really?" her mother asked, taking turns looking at each member of her family with a curious smile.

Jack's face scrunched up into a disgusted frown. "Yuck. Thanks, Nat."

"You're welcome," she replied as politely as she could.

Their parents exchanged a look, then laughed. "Definitely your girl," John remarked as he stood from the bed. He ruffled Jack's hair, then shared a conniving glance with his wife. "Well, Nat, you were definitely right about one thing."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah." Setting his face towards Elizabeth, John grinned. "I'm gonna kiss Lady Elizabeth."

One of the kids let out a "bleh!" as John pressed his lips to hers, the only physical contact that he'd had with her all day. Already she could feel herself melting into him, but quickly decided that the children's room wasn't the place for a long term PDA.

She smiled as he pulled back. "What a nice welcome home present."

"Been saving that all day," he joked, looking at the munchkins that had separated from their mother and were now tugging him back down to the beds. "Looks like I have a bed time story to finish."

"You go ahead, I'm gonna take a shower."

"All right. I'll be done soon," he promised, winking at her.

She blushed, then left the story club alone.

"But Lady Elizabeth was related to Prince Todd, and she lived in the castle…"

_Oh, may that never be so._

* * *

John smiled as he leaned over the toddler's bed, tucking in the blankets snugly around the three year old girl. Her brother had already fallen asleep, sprawled atop his covers, and John didn't bother to move him. At the doorway to the room, his wife stood with her arms crossed lightly as she let out a quiet laugh. "You're incredible."

"What you do mean?" he whispered back, smirking as he stood from his children's beds.

"That wasn't a made up story. You totally ripped off _Robin Hood_," she called him out as she tied the robe around her waist. "Lady Elizabeth? Sheriff of Pegasus? Prince Todd?"

He gave her one of his thin lipped, deceivingly pleasant smiles before kissing her. "That's what we get for bringing movies, not books."

"John."

He had started to walk back into the common room, but stopped short. "Yes, Lady Elizabeth?"

She tilted her head, giving him an amused smile. "We _do_ have _Robin Hood_. On DVD," she reminded him, beaming as she unwrapped the towel from her hair, shaking it out slightly.

John's own smirk faded instantly. "Oh, crap. Well, be right back."

"Where are you going now?" she called to his retreating form.

"To hide all the copies of _Robin Hood_ floating around Atlantis. I can't lose my credibility as the best story teller in the City, now, can I?"

As the doors closed behind him, Elizabeth walked over to her desk, opening her laptop, searching for a file. Within seconds, the Disney version of _Robin Hood_ appeared on her screen. "Everybody's burned the movies onto their hard drives, John," she murmured to thin air as her husband was absent.

She glanced into the next room, and slowly, with a twinge of guilt, shut off her laptop. The kids had fallen right to sleep, their father's wide smile on their faces. Natalie looked more like her father. Her hair was longer, yet still untamable. Jack was dark haired, but the short curly locks definitely came from his mother. They both looked so content, so peaceful, amid the sometimes terrifying world they lived in.

She didn't want to shatter their youthful innocence by any means. They would find out in time that John Sheppard wasn't the original author of that story.

Behind her, the doors opened and closed again. John stuffed his hands in his pockets, casting a sheepish look at Elizabeth. "I figured people have probably burned the movies on their computers, so …" He trailed off, taking in the small figures laying in the room. He chuckled, laying his head on Elizabeth's robe covered shoulder for a moment. "Thank you."

She turned her head towards him, encountering his dark hair. "For what?"

"For letting me have this life with you. With them."

She smiled, then turned her body, forcing his head upright. She put her hands up, pulling said head to hers and kissing him lovingly, just once. "I couldn't imagine a better life."

"Even with a swashbuckling husband who's always dressed in black?" he teased, simultaneously giving her a hint about the next story he would tell.

She gave him a warning glare, still holding him close. "The night that you rip off _The Princess Bride_, you're sleeping on the couch."

He smiled, kissed the tip of her nose, and sighed happily. "As you wish."

Fin.


End file.
